A Secret to Surrender
by Shiloh Darnell
Summary: A girl who finds a book starts to notice weird happenings in her town.
1. prologue

(*A/N I own this story. It came out of my imagination, please don't steal it. I also like criticism. The more the better)

Prologue -

_**Emi**_ didn't know what to write. "Will the teacher think I'm stupid if I use big words? … She'll think I'm trying to impress her. I just know it." She had a paper due tomorrow, and as usual she hadn't taken the time to do it before now. "But this way I always have a plan of what I want to say before I sit down to actually type it!" that was the excuse she used when her parents asked her why she waited. "I'm not stupid I know big words, I use them all the time, but when it comes to essays I always feel weird using them, like I'm trying to get a better grade." Frustrated she placed her head on her crossed arms, careful not to hit the keyboard in the process. She sat there for a moment and sighed, wishing that she's just done her paper earlier in the week instead of waiting.

Sitting up, she saved her measly three sentence essay, and turned off the computer. As she unplugged her jump drive she turned off the monitor and computer speakers, so the lights wouldn't keep her awake, and got dressed for bed. Tying up her bobbed brown hair, she crawled into bed and proceeded with her nightly ritual of kissing her teddy's check and told him good night.

The next morning she woke to her alarm clock literally buzzing itself off her nightstand, forcing her to leave the comfort of her cozy bed. "I hate Mondays. Nothing important ever happens on a Monday; _e v e r."_


	2. Chapter 1

(again this is my work don't steal or the police monkeys will get you in your sleep)

Chapter one –

'_**Á difficult day'**_ didn't even begin to describe what had happened. First, Emi's best friend, Jean, had broken up with her boyfriend Ian, who was also Emi's friend, to go out with Vick, Ian's other best friend. Second, Emi had been assigned a major project in her advanced social studies class, AP U.S. History, with perhaps the goofiest and most annoying boy ever, Arik Jarrod. Third, Jean hadn't finished the essay for her English class either, so she didn't have time to help Emi during their lunch period. And finally, when Ms. Bartelson found out that Emi didn't finish her essay, had asked her to stay after class to personally insist that she come over later so that she could help her finish.

"It's not like I make the best grades in her class, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who didn't finish that stupid essay," Emi grumbled yet again to Ian as they walked to their after school play practice. Ian just shrugged and like the best friend she knew he would always be, gave her a hug and said " Life's not over till it's over, and if you don't go in there and rock my socks off during practice, then I will never again admit I know you!" Emi just laughed and rolled her eyes, "I'm not the lead, so how can I rock your socks off?! And besides, you're not even wearing any."

"Then go in there and show the entire world, aka the awesomest people you know myself included, what Emi Dante can do!" Ian always had that kind of fruity flair, and it had never occurred to Emi till now that he didn't seem so upset about getting dumped. "Wait, enough about me for once. Why aren't you all bent out of shape about getting dumped?! Dude, your girlfriend just dumped you only like two hours ago! How can you be over it?" Ian stopped, grabbed Emi's arm and pulled her into the shadowy alcove of a nearby door.

"Emi, we only dated for like a week and a half! It's not like we were joined at the hip or anything!"

"Yeah I know Ian, but still she was your girlfriend… unless she was just a cover-up!" She poked him in the ribs, making him squeak. Emi always joked with Ian about the fact that he was a closet gay, to which he always said he wasn't. "Honestly can't I like someone and then have our relationship be torn apart just to have her run after my best friend and not be hurt by it, without being gay?!"

Ian turned away to continue walking to the auditorium. Emi made an attempt to grasp his sleeve, "Ian I'm just joking! Besides, why would I care if you were gay?! You're my best guy friend and have been since we were little!" Ian just ignored her and continued walking down the hallway. It had never seemed to be this long and so resonate before. "Great," Emi thought, "just add this to the list, now I've ticked off one of my best friends!" Realizing that her cell phone alarm was buzzing, threw her hands up into the air, "Oh, what a joyful day this is!" and turned after Ian, once again late for play practice.

Later that afternoon, Emi had a few minutes to run home and rest her feet before she had to be out the door again to make it to Ms. Bartelson's house. So she grabbed a soda from the closet, and grabbed one of her favorite books from off the table where she had left it this morning. "Finally! I'll get to finish it!" Emi happily flopped down on the sofa just as her father poked his head around the corner and said, "Don't get too comfortable. We need to start getting the house clean for this weekend, we have visitors. Some of my work buddies are coming over to celebrate the Super Bowl. And you know how Mom gets when the house is messy." Emi pressed her eyes closed with her finger tips, in an effort to not get irritated… and it wasn't working. "You know I don't hate Maegan, dad, But she's not my mother. So I don't even attempt to call her that."

"Maegan is a perfectly good mother to you! Why cant you be respectful and grant her one little whish?"

"Because, she's NOT my mother, Dad. I'm trying to be respectful, but it's hard when all she ever says is 'I wish you would call me mom.'"

"It's your job to be the example in this house to your little brother and sister! You need to have a good attitude around them, and teach them how to be respectful, but you can't do that if you're always complaining and arguing." Emi stood up and attempted to walk past her father in the hallway. He let her walk past with only a small shake of his head to show that he was disappointed. "I was meaning to ask before you insisted on arguing, how did your paper go in class today? Did the teacher like it?"

"I don't know dad, she hasn't read it yet. She offered to have me come over so she could help me finish. So I will be leaving before dinner."

"I wish would tell me these things Emi. I need to be able to tell Maegan, so she knows what to plan for dinner."

Emi walked into her room without saying anything else. Remembering the book in her hand she threw it on her bed and jumped on after it. The place it had fallen open to was Emi's favorite. It was the kind of story that the heroine was totally without need of a guy to help her. Though it seemed as if she chose to fall for him anyway. The author ended without telling if they had gotten together, it was the type of ending you wanted in every way. They just left it up to the reader to decide.

It always cheered her up, but tonight she didn't feel like reading it, and placed it on top of the ever growing stack of books by her bed. Instead she placed her head on her arms and decided to take a nap.


	3. Chapter 2

A Secret to Surrender

Chapter two –

_**It was **_cold outside, and Emi wished she had thought to grab something other than her usual outer wear, her thin Invader Zim hoodie. Wrapping herself more tightly in what little protection the hoodie offered from the late December chill, she hesitantly raised her hand to knock on the door. As her fist was about to make contact with the faded green door, it opened. There standing in the doorway was perhaps the second cutest guy in the entire existence of forever, but also the last person Emi had wanted to see, Arik Jarrod.

The jerk didn't even say hello or anything to acknowledge that Emi was there, besides opening the door. He just turned and walked down the hallway into what Emi assumed was the living room of the house. Emi was still so stunned to see him standing there, that she didn't wonder why he was even there.

Shivering rather violently, Emi finally walked into the hallway and shut the door behind her. Then she heard a familiar voice down the hall to her right. "Is that Emi, Arik? I did tell you we would be having a guest for dinner didn't I? Well, we are, and she's here to finish her paper. So, after dinner don't forget to show her to the study, and then don't bother her. I will be helping her when I'm done cleaning up." Arik just grumbled in response.

"The food was delicious, Ms. Bartelson. Really it was."

"Why, thank you Emi. I appreciate your great taste! Arik, please take Emi's dishes and start loading the dishwasher while I speak with her. By the way Emi, please call me Eleanor when we are not at school. Ms. Bartelson makes me sound so old."

"Eleanor if you don't mind me asking. Why does Arik live with you? He doesn't have your last name… "

"Oh that. Yeah, Arik doesn't want most people to know. But, I'm his aunt, his mother's half sister. When she died, his father had run off and no one wanted him to take Arik. I was the only one that didn't have any previous ties to his father, so I'm the one who got him."

Emi didn't know what to think. She'd never thought that way about Arik; he'd always seemed the kind of guy raised with the typical 60's mother and father, with the white picket fence. It did seem to fit though, because Arik had always been the more reserved of his friends. He may have been a total goof, and fairly irritating, but he did seem to have a good sense of when to stop something before it got too totally out of hand.

"I never realized that… "

"It's ok Emi, Most people don't. "

An awkward silence followed, until Eleanor placed her hands flat on the table and stood up. "Perhaps it's time you got to work on what you came here to do, Arik? Please show Emi where the study is. I'll be over in a minute, after I finish the dishes."

"Follow me." Emi stood and followed Arik, barely containing the plethora of questions that had started plaguing her brain. Once she stood in the study did she find her voice and was brave enough to say anything. Even then she only said, "I didn't know."

"Don't you dare say a word to anyone at school, and I defiantly don't need you to feel sorry for me. I'm living just fine with the way things are. I don't need sympathy from you or anyone else. I'm already cooped up here with her."

2


End file.
